No "trying" involved. This is the top of the racing world. When scratching one's way up the precipice, one does what it takes to get there first, not worry about stylin'........
I don't know if you have noticed but Verstappen hasn't the fastest car, and is often not racing at the front. With the grid penalty, at Monza Max will start at the back, so won't be "starting up front". Red Bull doesn't have a car for the long straights of Monza, so (penalties or not) Verstappen can logically get 5th place at best. It would be good if he can achieve more than that starting from the back of the grid, but I don't expect a podium.
Yes, 'matter of fact I have noticed, and, all the above is true, well, and good. However I was responding to your statement: "Some people are dead against grid penalties, but for the top teams, it's not really an issue." I think the converse is true. The top teams, I'm sure, are less pleased about the grid penalties than the lesser ones. My reasoning? They have more to lose...... A goal of fifth for the weaker may be wonderful, a victory to them. The top teams tho' are looking to grab the ring, not settle for just a ride on the merry-go-round. Thus, grid penalties are nearly (key word, that) a death knell for their goals. Qually approaching. Enjoy.
Teams should avoid incurring grid penalties if they affect them that much. As a Spectator, I love them ! I suppose that I like the handicap they give, and I Watch with admiration how some drivers overcome it. The top drivers usually manage to come back at the front.
I don't mind any form of handicap. I think it makes the competition harder for the best drivers/cars, and the spectators benefit from the spectacle. Handicap races were common before WWII in UK to level the field. Also the BoP (Balance of Power) in endurance is a way to bring the cars' performance to the same level, etc ...
I'm definitely not comfortable by any means. but I think Ferrari will be ok, if they don't bottle the strategy. It will be interesting to see if the forecasted rain materializes. Ferrari was fairly equal to Mercedes in race pace simulations and they have their version of "party mode" with this new Spec 3 engine reportedly. Ferrari have supposedly sacrificed some race pace to lower the tire degradation, which will help greatly at Monza. If it rains or temps are cooler, that will give Ferrari a further advantage by getting the tires into the proper window.
I’m sceptical they will be able to work the tyres correctly regardless of temperatures, they’ve reduced element of power to help, and changed some aspects of the suspension geometry, but that means the bare car is slower than it could be. I think in the Schumi years, clever multi stop strategy would have been deployed, so they get more speed out the car but eat tyres, and just stop more often with the speed offsetting the problems... hey ho, let’s see if we can give the scumbags another bloody nose tomorrow. If not, it was hardly expected anyway so it makes little difference. Season was over in Bahrain
Reportedly they had success with a different engine mapping mode and reduced the tire wear in practice. That's a good thing and I think it will give them an edge. They'll have to strategically deploy their higher engine mode to pull a larger gap on the Mercs while not killing their tires. That will be the key to winning, IMO, provided they have a good pit strategy. But yes, the season is over. Ferrari are still struggling massively with downforce and this is killing them in the slow corners and they're even suffering in the high speed corners. Monza is probably their last best chance at a win this season.
Agreed, it’s a shame that our season is actually reduced to four tracks on which we could perform - Bahrain, Canada (stolen from us), Spa and Monza... even worse that so far we are 1 for 3!
